Round 2 Review – League Two Men’s
An action-packed Round Two of the 2025 FNSW League Two Men’s season saw a whopping 26 goals scored and a winner in each match, with drama spread across the weekend.
The Match of the Round this week saw it all with Dunbar Rovers FC securing a win in dramatic fashion over Fraser Park FC in a local derby.
Saturday, 15th February 2025
Match of the Round: Dunbar Rovers FC 2-1 Fraser Park FC
Dunbar Rovers FC secured all three points deep in the match against Fraser Park FC in a 2-1 win to get their home season off to the perfect start.
A stop-start beginning to the match saw neither side create many chances, with the only attempt in the opening twenty minutes falling to Fraser Park’s Christian Dos Santos, where his effort driven to the near left post went just wide.
In the 21st minute, a flurry of chances came for Dunbar in a matter of seconds; first, a lob from outside the box was saved by Fraser Park goalkeeper Amaro Ferreira, before the follow-up shot was also saved, with the final effort from Dunbar’s Guilherme Mazurkievicz Pansonato took a deflection over the goal for a corner.
Dunbar started to gain some ascendancy in the match and saw another shot go over the goal from Takumi Machida a few minutes later.
Both sides traded possession in attack, while the Dunbar defence held together well to stop the Fraser Park counter-attacks.
Just after the 30-minute mark, Fraser Park’s William Wright was slipped a ball in behind and had a shot on target which was saved by Dunbar goalkeeper, Benjamin Wrigley.
Dunbar’s Aoba Forsyth had shots deflected and go wide right, respectively, after that, with the final chance of the half falling to Fraser Park’s Wright, who could not get on the end of a dangerous ball, with the teams entering half-time level at 0-0.
Dunbar came out firing in the second half and took the lead in spectacular fashion in the 47th minute through Pansonato – he received the ball just inside the Fraser Park half and spotted Ferreira off his line, so took his shot on from over 35 yards and watched as the ball looped over Ferreira into the back of the net to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
Dunbar had a golden chance to double their lead in the 54th minute when a deflected cross fell to Adrian Paez in the box, but his close-range effort fizzed past the left post.
The hosts had taken ascendancy since their goal and saw a chance to Zachary Marinos whizz over the crossbar minutes later.
Following that, Fraser Park had the next two chances in the match through Shu Torihara and Wright, respectively, with their respective efforts unable to result in an equaliser.
Dunbar’s Paul Gautier almost scored off the bench but saw his effort from the right hit the underside of the crossbar, before Fraser Park did grab their equaliser in the 80th minute in spectacular style.
A ball in the box not cleared by the Dunbar defence saw it fall to Fraser Park substitute Stavros Palapanis, who thundered in a bicycle kick from range to level the match for the hosts at 1-1.
Fraser Park had another overhead kick go wide in the 89th minute as they searched for a late winner, but it was the hosts who had the final say in the contest.
With 25 seconds left of regulation time, Dunbar substitute No.25 Lucas Burbage got the ball in the Fraser Park box down the right and placed his effort precisely into the bottom-left corner of the goal to rapturous applause to give Dunbar the late 2-1 lead.
Dunbar had made the most of their chances in a match which saw some high-quality football played and picked up their first win of the season, 2-1, over Fraser Park.
Speaking post-match, Dunbar captain Bastian Monroy gave praise to Pansonato for taking his chance from distance.
“I think that is a good skill about the striker, when they have the ball they have the goal in their mind, when you have the ball, just watch the ball and try it, it was not just luck, we have practiced that.”
Speaking on the winning goal, Monroy was proud of Burbage for stepping up from the under-20s to score the winner.
“It was not a game to draw, so we took the chance, we made a good sub in Lucas Burbage, he got the chance and scored straight away, so it is pretty good for him to try to build the confidence.”
The win for Dunbar was their first of the season, while the loss for Fraser Park was their second in a row to start 2025.
Dunbar will look to build on the win after their bye in Round Three, while Fraser Park will hope to bounce back when they travel to face Central Coast United FC.
Dunbar Rovers FC 2 (Guilherme Mazurkievicz Pansonato 47’; Lucas Burbage 90’)
Fraser Park FC 1 (Stavros Palapanis 80’)
Friday, 14th February 2025
Hurstville Zagreb FC 3-0 Sydney University SFC
A Valentine’s Day to remember for Hurstville Zagreb FC saw them pick up the three points after a 3-0 home win over Sydney University SFC, which was their fifth-straight head-to-head win over the students.
Hurstville looked to hold the ball early and dealt with the threat of the students on the break as both teams looked for an early inroad in the contest, with an early header in from Hurstville’s Mickey Neill chalked off for offside.
Jesse Gagro had a chance in the first half that was saved by University goalkeeper Kota Arakawa, before Andre Guzman hit the crossbar with an effort.
University also had a chance to score with a dangerous ball across the box but could not find the finishing touch.
The deadlock was broken in the 34th minute when Declan Sheldon slipped Paul Gagro in behind down the right, who ran to the byline and cut the ball back to his brother, Jesse Gagro, who finished to give Hurstville a 1-0 lead at half-time.
After the break, University changed shape and Hurstville made the most of their pressure – in the 65th minute were rewarded when Neill picked up the ball on the edge of the University box and powered his effort home to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.
Hurstville kept up the pressure and had a goal from a corner disallowed, while they also had shots from Nikola Todoroski and Sheldon which were saved by Arakawa.
University, meanwhile, were not able to make the most of their attempts at getting in behind Hurstville.
Hurstville wrapped up the 3-0 victory in the fifth minute of stoppage time when Neill was fouled in the box and stepped up to convert the spot kick.
The win for Hurstville saw them pick up not only back-to-back wins to start the season, but also back-to-back clean sheets, while University lost back-to-back matches to start the season.
Hurstville will hunt a third-straight win when they travel to face Gladesville Ryde Magic in Round Three, while University will look to win their first match of the season when they travel to face Parramatta FC.
Hurstville Zagreb FC 3 (Jesse Gagro 34’; Michael Neill 65’, 90+5’ pen)
Sydney University SFC 0
Saturday, 15th February 2025
Gladesville Ryde Magic 1-0 Central Coast United FC
Gladesville Ryde Magic picked up a big win in their first home match of the season with a tight 1-0 win over Central Coast United FC.
A battle of two contrasting styles saw Gladesville battle for the second ball with long balls up the field, which they did effectively, while Central Coast United looked to break the Magic down.
In a tight match with few chances, the match was going to be decided by moments and that was the case in the second half.
Right after half-time, in the 47th minute, Aaron Nordstrom scored a stunner with a long-range effort to give the Magic a 1-0 lead in the contest.
In the last 15 minutes, the match opened up but the Magic held on defensively to keep the Pirates out, who had several opportunities but could not find the equaliser.
The Magic missed a one-on-one chance on the counter in the 90th minute to double their lead, but that miss did not matter, ultimately, as they picked up their first win of the season, 1-0.
The win for the Magic saw them bounce back from their Round One loss, while the defeat for Central Coast United was their first of the season.
The Magic will hope to win back-to-back matches when they host Hurstville FC in Round Three, while the Pirates will look to bounce back when they host Fraser Park FC.
Gladesville Ryde Magic 1 (Aaron Nordstrom 47’)
Central Coast United FC 0
South Coast Flame FC 2-3 Bankstown United FC
Bankstown United FC picked up their first win of the season in a comeback 3-2 away win over South Coast Flame FC, who suffered their first defeat of the season.
Bankstown took an early 1-0 lead in the 4th minute when a free-kick into the Flame box was headed by Daniel Slane off the post into Alexander Alston, which sent the ball over the line for the early own goal.
Following that, the Flame had two chances to Kade Kinsella but Bankstown goalkeeper Daniel Slane did well to keep them out.
In the 29th minute, the Flame levelled the match when a short corner from Matthew Mazevski found Jyden Harb, who found the bottom corner to level the contest.
One minute later, Harb was played in behind and grabbed a double in the match, scoring past Slane to give the Flame a 2-1 lead.
Bankstown equalised in the 39th minute when Nathan Manno found Mitchell Cross on a near-post run, with the latter slotting home from six yards to level the match at 2-2 at half-time.
In the 53rd minute, Cross had a golden chance to give Bankstown the lead but saw his header hit the post before his follow-up attempt was saved well by Flame goalkeeper Nenad Vekic.
The Flame had chances to Adam Timpano-Voloder and Kinsella on the hour mark but could not convert, while Bankstown made the most of his chance.
In the 69th minute, Sebastian La Luz found Anthony Proia with a ball in behind, where the latter shrugged off his defender and volleyed the ball first-time from just inside the box to give Bankstown a 3-2 lead.
The Flame had a late chance to Timpano-Voloder, before they were reduced to ten men in the 82nd minute when Alexander Alston was shown a second yellow card.
Bankstown held on late to secure a big 3-2 win away from home.
The loss for the Flame was their first of the season, while Bankstown grabbed their first win of the new year.
The Flame will look to respond when they travel to take on Prospect United SC in Round Three, while Bankstown will make the trip to face Camden Tigers FC.
South Coast Flame FC 2 (Jyden Harb 29’, 30’; Alexander Alston 82’ red card)
Bankstown United FC 3 (Alexander Alston 4’ OG; Mitchell Cross 39’; Anthony Proia 69’)
Granville Rage 6-3 Parramatta FC
A nine-goal thriller saw Granville Rage make a statement in their derby match against Parramatta FC with a big 6-3 home win, which was their third-straight head-to-head win over the Eagles.
The Rage got off to the perfect start when Anthony Gallo scored to give the hosts an early 1-0 lead in the 10th minute.
Following that, a penalty to the Rage saw Asmir Kadric step up and slot the ball home to double the Rage’s lead.
Kadric had a double and gave the hosts a 3-0 lead in the 27th minute, with the Rage running riot on their western Sydney neighbours.
Three goals quickly became four when Timothy Borg-William scored for the hosts to give them a 4-0 lead at half-time.
After the break, the Rage scored their fifth goal of the match through Mitchell Whalley for a 5-0 lead.
Parramatta scored what were two late consolation goals through Marco Sama and Yusuf Aydin in the 70th and 75th minute, respectively.
Borg-Williams completed his double in the 76th minute for a 6-2 lead for the Rage, before Sama scored his double in the 90th minute as consolation for the Eagles – the Rage recorded a big 6-3 win to kick-start their season.
The win for the Rage saw them bounce back from their big opening-round defeat, showing the unpredictability of the league, while Parramatta lost following their first-round win.
Granville will hope to build on this big win when they travel to face Hawkesbury City FC in Round Three, while Parramatta will hope to bounce back at home to Sydney University SFC.
Granville Rage 6 (Anthony Gallo 10’; Asmir Kadric 15’ pen, 27’; Timothy Borg-Williams 31’, 76’; Mitchell Whalley 63’)
Parramatta FC 3 (Marco Sama 70’, 90’; Yusuf Aydin 75’)
Nepean FC 2-0 Camden Tigers FC
Nepean won back-to-back matches to start the season after a 2-0 home win over Camden Tigers FC, who lost following their opening-round victory.
In a tight contest, Nepean had two good chances in the first half which were saved well by Camden, while the visitors held possession well but were unable to create a big chance.
Nepean were rewarded for their patience in first-half stoppage-time when captain Mathew Crossley scored to give Nepean a 1-0 lead.
Straight after half-time, Crossley scored an opportunistic goal to double Nepean’s lead as they looked to make the most of the match.
Following that, Camden looked to throw everything in attack at Nepean, which the hosts repelled after making a few adjustments.
In a match where Nepean took their chances and Camden were unable to play to their strengths, the hosts took out the 2-0 win.
The victory for Nepean saw them record back-to-back wins to start the season, while Camden could not back up their Round One win with another victory.
Nepean will hope to win a third-straight match when they host Inner West Hawks FC, while Camden will hope to learn lessons from this match as they prepare to host Bankstown United FC in Round Three.
Nepean FC 2 (Mathew Crossley 45+1’ pen, 48’)
Camden Tigers FC 0
Sunday, 16th February 2025
Prospect United SC 2-1 Hawkesbury City FC
Prospect started their season with a bang after a comeback 2-1 home victory over a nine-man Hawkesbury City FC.
Hawkesbury were dealt a big blow in the 9th minute when James Thurtell was deemed to have fouled a Prospect attacker as the last man and was shown a straight red card.
The visitors dug in, however, and took the lead in the 45th minute off a counter-attack with Vincent Dermilio finishing off the move to give Hawkesbury a 1-0 lead at half-time.
The match turned in the 67th minute when a backheel caught the hand of a Hawkesbury defender and a penalty was given to Prospect.
Tobias Elliott-Orr, who had been booked a minute earlier, was shown a second yellow card for dissent over the decision, leaving the hosts with nine men for the remainder of the match.
Anthony Idehen, meanwhile, stepped up and converted the spot kick to level the match at 1-1 for Prospect.
Prospect made the most of their two-man advantage late when Jamie Dib found space and hit a left-footed shot from just inside the box into the bottom corner to give the hosts a 2-1 lead.
Prospect held the ball from there and hit the post through Dimos Vlachos late, but settled for the 2-1 win.
The win for Prospect saw them pick up their first points of the season after their first-round bye, while Hawkesbury lost their first match of the season.
Prospect will look to win back-to-back matches to start their season when they host South Coast Flame FC in Round Three, while Hawkesbury will look to rebound when they host Granville Rage.
Prospect United SC 2 (Anthony Idehen 67’ pen; Jamie Dib 72’)
Hawkesbury City FC 1 (James Thurtell 9’ red card; Vincent Dermilio 45’; Tobias Elliott-Orr 67’ red card)
By Football NSW League Two Men’s Reporter, Dylan Costa
